TIP # 121, Latest Tyre Tests Across the Red Centre, 4x4 Enthusiasts Take Note:

why change you already have the best

Scott

Re Coopers/BFG's.... Many moons ago I believed all the hype about coopers and bought a set of A/T's (5years) lasted about 20,000 ks and on the edge of the tread the wire was showing out, still had tread but at edge of sidewall stuffed. Took them to dealers to ask for replacement's and was informed they were still ok. Mentioned to them that the police dept if they stopped me would not think the same way but to no avail.
shortly afterwards I swallowed my pride and opened my wallet and purchased some BFG's A/T they have lasted well. Two were replace free of charge after 20,000k;s due to chipping (I was on Gibb River Rd afterall just after the wet season and before the grader :-)) I think I forgot to mention that to the dealer), and the other 2 still going. So far have done 60300k's on first set 5.5mm tread left. Trips were 2 too Gibb River Rd, Mitchell Falls and Kalumbaru. The other two only 1 trip up that way and 41600ks and 6mm tread left. Also no punctures at all pressure around 46psi, and used nitrogen for first trip. regards to all Ric

Steve,

Can we order BFG Muddies on our BT? Extra? I'm planning to put Muddies on my troopy as well.

Michael.

for Loneranger, the reason I have used nitrogen (providing I dont go on soft sand and have to let my tyres down) is that they run cooler and they don't leak air. With normal air, after a while it actually leaks thru the tyre, but the N component doesn't only the O2 (oxygen) does. With your muddies a couple of quick questions ... how much tread left at 80k kilometers and are they much noisier than normal AT's my AT's are heaps quieter than the coopers
.... ric

Sorry Mark and Yvonne as I am not a Physics Scientist I cant oblige with a paper on the reasons why Nitrogen does not leak thru walls of tyres but as far as I understand from my useage at vineyard and farm it is heavier than air, same as Co2, suggest you could find out answer on Google Search, however for our useage here after our Kimberley trips of over 20,000k's the tyre pressure did not change through out the trip.
ps, I believe that according to my cousin who used to fly for Ansett it is used in tyres of the Airbus and 747's
regards Ric

We have 2 Cooper ST on the front of our F250 and because of a recall earlier this year could not get another 3 so settled for Cooper STT which have a much more agressive pattern that goes up the side walls.

Like Steve has said above, one of the Cooper ST's has chips in the outside lugs and another vehicle we saw at Chambers Pillar with them had similar chuncks missing on 2 or 3 of his tyres from rock tracks.

The Cooper STT are primarily an off bitumen tyre and no milage garuantee is given. We had a sharp rock penetrate a new tyre at 800 km old, but have now travelled nearly 20,000 km without further incident and mostly on off bitumen roads. They handle very well when deflated with such a wide tread pattern.

At Lawn Hill I spoke to an Opposite Lock tour guide and they are very happy with the less agressive Cooper AT range.

My Cooper STT will be lucky to get 50,000 but I took the Bridgestone A/Ts off after about 40,000 km, so not sure what to put on next time.

Hi Folks, this is my first encounter with the Boggers group -after many months of decision making about which brand of van to buy , we have finally paid our deposit on a 19ft B/T.
So you can expect some correspondence from us.
I would like to share our experiences with tyres on our troopie--a 2001 T/D 78 series.
I kicked off with Cooper STs and had exactly the same experiences as other people --chipping of lugs and even more worrying -cracks at the base of the tread which travelled down the side walls a bit --not nice -- ok , I live in the Pilbara - an area renowned for being harsh on tyres--dirt roads, sharp rocks , and high road /ambient temperatures--all very hard on tyres. The local Cooper agent doesnt give any warranty on Coopers here--no matter what the Cooper ads say--NO WARRANTY WHATSOEVER! That in itself should indicate just how much confidence the Cooper agents have in Cooper tyres. This should have caused alarm bells to ring for me but I was determined to get Coopers--ah well !
So I bought my Coopers in Perth and got a warranty-Australia wide--crazy heh?
Alas ! those STs lasted only 5,000Ks before the trouble started and living here in Karratha, I had a hard time convincing the Cooper importers to honour their warranty-they accused me of not having the correct tyre pressures and of poor driving techniques--as I am an instructor for the local 4wd club and have been driving 4WDs since the days of series 2 Land rovers and Austin Gypsies [--remember that one ?], I would say I am not a novice -I dont claim to know it all though, I am always learning and I have learned a few things about Cooper tyres.
I eventually got a set of STTs out of Coopers and drove from Karratha to Darwin and back towing an Ultimate camper trailer--No chipping this time and no cracks either BUT those tyres wore down almost 7 mm on that trip--ok , I did some off road tracks too --around some of the National Parks and the Bungles etc and I always vary my tyre pressures according to road /track conditions using the "4 psi gain rule" but those Coopers just kept wearing away -fast!
A friend with another troopie came to look at my tyres just before he did the same trip and decided against Coopers -he bought Goodyear Wrangler MTRs and after towing his camper trailer virtually along the same route with a 44gal drum of diesel in the back of his troopie as well as a huge box of tools etc ,his tyres looked like new when he returned.
I am currently questioning every B/T owner I meet regarding ideas/ modifications , recommendations etc and checking their tyres as well --most run the B/T supplied Bridgestone Dueller 693s in LT285/75R16 but I question the sense of this. They are larger in diameter than 750/16 so my speedo would be out if I fitted them to my troopie [I prefer to have all wheels interchangeable and to keep spares down to 2 ], they are very wide -giving great floatation in sand etc but could be a problem with fuel economy--sure they are strong but so are Dueller 661s in 235/85R16--a narrower tyre for fuel economy and very strong-load range of E and speed rating of 120kph--adequate? and they cost less! Also , Bridgstone say that the 285s are not readily available in all areas around Oz--Hmmm! and they say if you have big problems , you could easily get 750/16s anywhere in an emergency but they will only fit onto a 7" rim not an 8"- food for thought ?
Another tyre I am investigating is the Wrangler Silent Armour type with Kevlar -at this stage they look promising -a bit dearer than the Duellers but a good tread pattern for both on and off road --always a compromise -- but these two look good to me --has anyone else tried them ? Any comments on the rubber wear rate on either type ?
I used to run BFG A/Ts on my earlier troopie with good wear rate and excellent performance out of them but side wall damage around here was a problem.
I agree with the Ranger that it is a bit crazy fitting aggressive tyres to the van when they are just rolling along but the advantage of only carrying 2 spares [for weight reduction] rather than 2 for the van and 2 different ones for the vehicle is a strong argument.
I am also fitting Smart Tyre devices to all tyres on the troopie and they will be fitted to the B/T --they will give me constant read out of pressures and temperatures on every tyre on the road --the way to go ?
Sorry this has been such a lengthy response but thats me --I tend to get carried away with subjects that concern me [and my wallet]
Aljoy [Alan]

Hi.
I have also had problems with cooper tyres a/t;s would not touch them again, they are advertised as a top product but any dealings with the importer/distributor is a non event, no after sales service whatsoever.According to one tyre dealer who has been to America he said they are a second rate tyre over there.I will be going back to bfg mud terrains again having had 3 sets on my 60 series, any problems are attended to by the dealer.

Regards Terry Bridges.